Paying more sales tax, etc.

and hard on us small business people. My husband and I run a small (very) gem, mineral, and jewelry business. In Virginia we are required to collect and pay sales tax (we don't at shows we go to out of state because we don't do more than one in each state). VA sales tax is generally 6.5% although I think it's higher in beltway counties. It generally comes out to odd amounts. I don't really want to round up, but rounding down hurts our profit, which is small enough as it is.
(As we said at the show in TN last weekend, "We don't charge sales tax bere because we don't have to pay your governor." )

90% of my sales were on the internet and to customers out of my state or out of the USA. I only had to pay sales tax on sales made in California. My answer was not to charge anyone sales tax. At the end of the year, I calculated how much sales tax I owed to the State of California and sent it in. It didn't amount to a hill of beans to my profits, really, and it was easier than dealing with charging my customers. I just took the total California sales and multiplied it by the current sales tax rate. So, I overpaid some. I got audited one year. The nice man showed up at my place of business, and I showed him how it calculated the tax I owed and that was how much I paid. He said, "You overpaid. I can issue you a refund." I said not to bother. It wasn't enough money to worry about. I never heard from the sales tax people again.

They last 20 or 30 years!